For many PCA pastors, they know how to preach the gospel and minister to people, but they haven’t been taught things like how to build a leadership pipeline, how to establish a strategic vision, or practical church finance skills.

The joyous celebration was, in the words of planting pastor Chris Talley, a remembrance of God’s faithfulness. “It wasn’t to celebrate ourselves but to worship Jesus and tell the story of what He’s done among ordinary people.”

"Events like this which seek to care for and keep church planters cared for and on mission is one of the reasons we chose to be a part of this movement.”

The hope is that over time, we’ll see more church planters and pastors identified, equipped, trained, and supported and ready to reach the lost and renew communities.

Chris is our first learning hub coordinator and the newest team member of the Tennessee Valley Presbytery Church Planting Network.

As Lakeway Presbyterian Church in Morristown, TN, prepares to particularize next year, we wanted to take a moment to reflect on the Lord’s faithfulness to this church plant over the last six years.

It’s been several years since we’ve had the pleasure of announcing a new church plant in the Tennessee Valley Presbytery, but this fall, we’re delighted to announce that Rob Herron and his wife, Mary Lee, are planting Mercy Presbyterian Church.

The Nashville Presbytery’s desire to plant churches has been growing for a while, and this year, that momentum began to be channeled intentionally through a partnership with the Tennessee Valley Presbytery.

Pastor Alton Hardy and Tristen Bryant of Urban Hope Community Church and Manifold Vision joined Tennessee Valley Presbytery’s church planters to share about their ministry in Fairfield, AL. As Alton said, the answer to each community’s problems is: “You must preach the gospel. Most of the churches in Fairfield are not even remotely preaching the gospel.”

Sometimes, the start of a plant comes after years of prayer and preparation, but other times, God brings the right pieces together much more quickly.

July was a busy month for Rural Church Development, first hosting a tent revival and then the annual small town pastor’s retreat.

There are more counties in the Tennessee Valley Presbytery that don’t have a PCA church than those that do. Seventeen of TVP’s counties do not have a PCA church, while 15 do. This is something we’re working to change through church planting.

Our first Church Planting Network gathering of 2025 featured two guests who spoke on two aspects of preaching. The goal of the gathering was that our church planters would be equipped to grow in their preaching practices.

Now, just about two years after the Shields family came to the church, Highland Park celebrated its particularization.

Redeemer Athens started in 2022, and in its second full year (2023), the congregation found a physical home in the form of their own building. Along with this blessing, the church body continues to experience spiritual growth and evangelism.

Over the last few years, we’ve seen the challenges associated with identifying, recruiting, and equipping future church planters, so we want to address some deepset issues in hopes of building leaders for the future. Our five-year planning process considered...

Woodlands Educational Initiative shows value and care for created things that are valued in Native culture while redirecting worship to the God of these created things. Greg says, “It’s a great outreach and a great way to show indigenous people that God doesn’t just like you; He loves you, and He made you the way that you are.”

“Church planting is like having a baby, and church revitalization is like adopting a teenager. With teenagers, you don’t have to potty train, teach them to walk, or teach them to read, but they have already been shaped, and not always in positive ways.”

Karen Ellis is a thoughtful, earnest voice in global conversations about living in a Christ-like manner when facing suffering, whether big (think being imprisoned or killed for your faith) or small (think difficulties at your job, desiring to be married while in a long season of singleness, or exhaustion in the midst of busyness).

Jim and Michael commissioned Dr. Ryan Burge (Baptist pastor and political science professor at Eastern Illinois University) to study and analyze what they’ve dubbed “the great dechurching.” They found that dechurching wasn’t limited to specific sociological categories or denominations. Instead, it’s wide-reaching.